"If I see Drah-koo-lah, I will. kick. him. in. the eye!!!" -- My 4 (almost 5) year old daughter. She GETS it!

"Meatpie Forever!" -- A playtester at GenCon 2013

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Yippee Kai Yay, Kemosabe...

This time around we have another class that will be making its appearance in the Transylvanian Grimoire. The Exotic will be joining the Theorist and the Half-Breed in the triumvirate of awesome that will be tentatively delayed until after the release of the Transylvanian Adventures core book.

Without further ado, The Exotic…

The Exotic hails from a remote, exotic region of the world such as India, China, Africa or the Americas. The Exotic exhibits strange, yet effective, fighting styles with seemingly inferior weapons like staves or oddly shaped knives. The Exotic also has special techniques for combat, healing and working with nature that seem magical to people accustomed to the customs and conveniences of Western Europe.

What the Exotic Does

I thought I may have been too coy with initial class summaries so I thought I would give more information on what these classes do and what separates them from the other classes in Transylvanian Adventures.

Exotics worship strange deities and have strange customs.

Exotics are the martial artists of the classes. They have fighting capabilities similar to a D&D Monk.

Exotics can advance to take on more of a "healer" role in the party. Or they can focus on their combat abilities to become more of a kung fu mahstah. Or they can focus more on the wilderness side of things to more closely mirror a scout.

Exotics have access to Weapon Trainings that no other class has. By contrast, the Exotic doesn't have easy access to firearms training. Many will find it difficult to use any firearms more sophisticated than a musket.

Exotics are hard to hit but don't have many hit points. This makes playing them an exercise in constant movement around the battlefield. If an Exotic gets pinned down, it could be lights out. But if an Exotic can stay mobile, he'll be in much better shape.

Exotics are one of three classes that have access to Mighty Deeds, although their Attack Die is not as good as DCC Warriors, DCC Dwarves and the other classes in Transylvanian Adventures.

Inspiration

The Exotic isn't directly inspired from Gothic fiction, although the taciturn, mysterious foreigner does make appearances in the genre. The more direct inspiration comes from Mani of Brotherhood of the Wolf. Or Tonto from the Lone Ranger. Kato of Green Hornet would also be comparable.

Other Uses

If using the Transylvanian Adventures rules and classes outside of the setting or genre, Exotics make good "forest people". Some of their abilities border on magical (even if they aren't spells) and they could easily fill the role of an Elf or a mysterious group of indigenous people with odd nature-based powers and a unique fighting style.